San Diego

Hundreds of Students in Lemon Grove Stay Home Following Threat to Elementary School

More than 200 students were kept home by their families following the gun threat.

Hundreds of elementary school students in Lemon Grove stayed home as a safety precaution Tuesday, after parents were informed of an anonymous shooting threat.

On Monday, the principal at Mount Vernon elementary school received an alarming email around 6 p.m., that alluded to a potential shooting at the school.

"It is a concern, it is a worry as [a] parent for myself, Saolotoga Iosua Tiauli, a parent of a six-year-old at the school told NBC 7. "I have four little ones, and that is my older daughter at this school."

After reading the email, the school immediately began working with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department (SDSO) to ensure public safety and weigh the credibility of the threat.

School leaders sent out a note to parents, as well as an emergency auto-call at 6 a.m. Tuesday. When parents dropped off their kids at school, they were handed emergency notes warning of the threat.

The email was linked to a server in the LA region but the exact origin could not be traced, said school officials.

"The voicemail was not panicking or anything like that," said Iosua Tiauli. "As a parent I was calm. I wasn't worried or anything. It's just another day and thank god for that."

Parents were even given permission to keep their children at home, while the threat was investigated.

"When we talked with our child's teacher, she did give us the option of taking him out for the day," said Greg Shibley, another parent who has a child attending the school.

"But then the more she talked about it, the more I got the sense that it didn't seem necessary at this point."

An investigation from the SDSO deputies is ongoing. Deputies remained on campus until every student at the school was picked up.

The superintendent has encouraged parents to talk to their children about speaking up if they see anything suspicious on campus. School officials say they will continue to be vigilant to maintain campus security.

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